Economy

It has been four long years since I last analysed the US housing market due to lack of personal exposure to this market. My last forecast (29 Jun 2008 - US House Prices Forecast 2008-2010) concluded in a forecasts for a continuing bear market for another 2.5 years into the end of 2010 as illustrated by the below original graph...

But that doesn't mean investors would necessarily run to the safety of Treasuries. Many U.S. government bonds could be shunned as investors worry about which issues are in default - even longer-dated issues that could have a coupon payment due that would potentially be in jeopardy.

It’s an “extremely significant” discovery, Cordell Kent, owner and dealer of Ballarant Mining Exchange Gold Shop, told the BBC. “I have been a prospector and dealer for two decades, and cannot remember the last time a nugget over 100 ounces [2.8 kg] has been found locally.”

“I think the U.S. government should default on the national debt,” he says, pre-empting his statement with the admission that it may sound outrageous and too radical. “I say that for several reasons. The most important of them is if they don’t default on it, it’s going to make the next several generations of Americans into effect indentured servants, serfs, to pay off the debt that their parents and grandparents have incurred.”

Our country is completely, entirely, and thoroughly broke. In fact, we’re in worst fiscal shape than any developed country, including Greece. We have fantastically large expenditures coming due in the form of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments to the baby boom generations – I.O.U.s, which we’ve conveniently kept off the books.

Watch for “bigger and bolder” moves by state-run behemoths this year, “as the share of oil and gas consumption by Asian countries continues to rise and pressure on Asian NOCs to ‘go global’ increases,” said Neil Beveridge, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong.

“The supply situation is worse than we thought it would be,” said independent LNG analyst Andy Flower, who tracks global export and import volumes. “LNG production declined last year and it doesn’t look as though it will increase by much this year.”

He added that LNG output has fallen just three other times in the 50 years it has been produced: In 2008 when the global economy was in free fall and in 1980 and 1981 when Algeria halted LNG exports to the United States over a price dispute.

Energy

Our research indicates that Canadians want a balanced discussion about energy, the economy and the environment. This pocket book is designed to give you fast, easy access to natural gas facts that will help you get in on the discussion.

Plans have also been made to enable the Fukushima Prefecture to become fully energy sefl-sufficient by 2040, using only renewable energy source. Part of the plans includes the development of Japan’s largest solar park in Minamisoma City.

Environment

The board noted that those three countries have a few factors in common to help explain their comparatively dismal results: they have the largest land masses in the survey, and they have the most resource-dependent economies in the OECD.

So the time has come to explore the opposite idea: regularly allowing greater-than-normal amounts of time to pass between meals, a practice known as "intermittent fasting," or IF. Frankly, today in America, simply eating three meals with no snacks might be called a form of IF, if only by way of contrast. If we were to return to this once-common practice, I believe we would be healthier for it.

Gold & Silver

Article suggestions for the Daily Digest can be sent to [email protected]. All suggestions are filtered by the Daily Digest team and preference is given to those that are in alignment with the message of the Crash Course and the "3 Es."